Fat intake and exercise questions

[ThinkingofPink]

I'm only about 4 weeks out from our first attempt and getting a little nervous. I am having a hard time staying low on fat. I am almost always in the upper limits or slightly over on my fat intake and then low on my protein and calories for the day. The calorie deficit I can make up for because there are plenty of beverages with empty calories. I just can't figure out how people are staying low on fat without being really low on protein and not eating meat! As for the exercise, I tried to incorporate it but it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought to maintain. I think I could maybe really try to push myself and get it done about 5 days of the week until our first attempt but is it too late?

[atomic sagebrush]

You realize you have up to 60 g of fat a day to use, right?

I need to know more info about what you're eating to help.

Eggs, dairy, beans, nuts, pasta, rice, all have protein in them. Beans, pasta, rice, egg white, skim dairy all have no fat but lots of protein.

You CAN actually have some meat if you need to, if you're low on protein. A bite or three of chicken will put you to 40-50 g of protein very quickly. Meat is not forbidden on LE Diet, it's just that it can make it harder for some people to stick to the diet for actually the reverse problem...since meat is lower in fat and lowish in cals but high protein, people eat a chicken breast and are already at 50 g protein and only have eaten 3-400 cals and then have nothing to eat for the rest of the day. But if you're having the opposite problem (which I always did too) then just eat a little meat. no biggie.

[ThinkingofPink]

I guess I'm not doing quite as bad as I thought but I'm almost always at the max and sometimes closer to 70. My protein is typically between 25-40 so I'm just a little low most days. I don't really want to add more meat in because I like the idea of at least staying (mostly) vegetarian if I can't stay lower on fat. I could try to add in egg whites with a meal on really low protein days. When I got my boy I ate a lot of eggs, meat, and cereal so I really wanted to stay away from those but I know here and there won't hurt my sway. I think I'm just being hard on myself. I have to keep reminding myself I'm eating VERY differently from when I got pregnant with him. As far as what I'm eating it's a lot of vegetarian Indian dishes, pastas with marinara, veggie burritos etc. I also eat a lot of Amy's frozen meals for lunch. I eat three times a day because I just can't do two. I get too shaky in between meals.

What is your opinion about the exercise? I'm very petite if that makes any difference. I'm only 5'1" and weigh about 95lbs. I have no problems ovulating at this height and weight. Plus I breastfeed.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, remember there's a lot of difference between LOTS and NONE. Some.

both 2 and 3 meals a day is perfectly acceptible. I always did 3 and in fact most do. Some people prefer 2 and that's fine too.

What I"d probably do, is up protein slightly, keep doing the fat as it is (I always recommend breastfeeders with little/no wegiht to spare to eat a lot of fat anyway) and exercise. See what happens. You may find it's ideal, you will hold steady on weight or lose a lb or so and will get the benefit of exercise, without having to mess with your diet if it's working for you.